Device for fastening a rail to a concrete railway sleeper



A. DELCROIX Sept. 8, 1964 DEVICE FOR FASTENING A RAIL TO A CONCRETE RAILWAY SLEEPER Filed Jan. 17, 1962 LLML United States Patent 3,147,921 DEVICE FQR FASTENING A RAIL TO A CONCRETE RAILWAY SLEEPER Andi- Deicroix, Brussels, Belgium, assignor to Compagnie Internationale des Pieux Armes Frankignoul, Liege, Belgium Filed Jan. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 166,960 Claims priority, application Luxembourg, Jan. 20, 1961, 39,671 6 Claims. (Cl. 238-310) The invention relates to a device for fastening a rail to a concrete railway sleeper, of the type wherein the rail is secured by means of clips and bolts, more particularly T-head bolts.

In known systems of this type, the end of each clip which is opposite that end of the clip which rests upon the edge of the rail foot is engaged in a notch or recess formed in the upper face of the concrete sleeper. Such heads of the bolts are of larger dimensions than the shanks and, since the bolts are inserted from the top side of the sleeper into a well provided in the sleeper, such well must have sufficient dimensions to allow the bolt head to move therethrough freely. The head is keyed in position by turning the bolt 90 about its axis. In practice, a rather important clearance will exist between the shank of the bolt and the corresponding well. Moreover, a certain clearance is always provided between such shank and the hole of the clip engaged thereon.

It follows that any side thrust on the rails is transmitted solely to the outside of the outer clips and thence to the notch, which forms an abutment for each clip. For this reason it has been heretofore customary to provide metal bodies anchored in the concrete at this location or rubber pads arranged in suitable notches, in order to avoid damage due to the shearing of the concrete at the said abutment areas of the clips. Such expedients complicate the design and do not always function properly.

In order to avoid such complication of the design, while preventing damage to the sleepers by the action of side thrust, the invention :provides means whereby the bolt may itself be caused to resist the sidewise thrust. According to the invention, the component parts of the rail fastening device are so related that the outer side of the bolt shank, i.e., the side remote from the rail, contacts the corresponding face of the well formed in the sleeper while the side of the hole formed in the clip closer to the rail engages the corresponding side of the end portion of the said shank, and while a fillet outer edge of the clip engages the outer abutment formed by the notch in the sleeper, in which the said fillet is accommodated.

One embodiment of the invention will be hereinafter described, by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a concrete sleeper, taken transversely to a rail which is secured by means of a fastening device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the bottom face of the sleeper.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the bolt from FIG. 1 without the corresponding nut.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the clip from FIG. 1, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan and side views, respectively, of the bearing plate in FIG. 1 for a bolt head.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a concrete sleeper having a rail 2 resting thereon. A plate 3 of rubber or other suitable material is inserted between the rail and the sleeper. As a rule, each rail is secured by means of a pair of devices according to FIG. 1, the other device of the pair being arranged symmetrically at the other side of the rail, and slightly offset in the longitudinal direction of the latter.

3,147,921 Patented Sept. 8, 1964 Each fastening device includes a bolt 4 having a T- head 5 and adapted to be inserted head-first into a well 6 provided in the sleeper. The Well 6 has a free cross-sectional area sufficient to allow the T-head to pass therethrough the wall with slight clearance. The well terminates in a widened cavity 7, open on the bottom face of the sleeper. The inner end of the cavity has seated therein a metal plate 8 formed with an aperture 9 of a shape corresponding to that of the well 6. The plate 8 has a pair of upstanding lugs 10 at two diametrically opposed corners of the aperture 9. FIGS. 5 and 6 show the plate in a position shifted by with respect to the position occupied by the plate in FIG. 1. After being inserted, the bolt is rotated by 90", so that the T-head engages the abutment lugs 10, the cavity 7 being for-med to allow for such movement.

After the bolt has been placed in position, a clip 11 formed with an aperture 12 slightly larger than the cross area of the bolt shank is engaged on the shank, with the fillet 13 of the clip accommodated in a notch 14 formed in the top face of the concrete sleeper and conveniently lined with a layer of asphalt. The nose of the clip, formed at the side thereof remote from the fillet 13, engages the upper and lateral surfaces of the rail foot so as to laterally engage the same while resting thereon. Finally, the bolt is tightened by means of a nut 15, with a resilient washer 16 inserted therebetween. A liner 17 of suitable thickness is supported in the Well 6. The liner may be a separate member or it may be embedded in the concrete sleeper.

According to the invention, the shape and the relative positions of the various components of the rail-fastening device are such that, when the rail has been laid between a pair of similar fastening devices arranged on either side of the rail foot, the outer side of the shank of the bolt 4, that is, the side remote from the rail, engages, at A, the liner 17, while the inner side of the aperture 12 of the clip, i.e. the side nearest to the rail, engages at B the corresponding side of the end portion of the shank of the bolt 4. It follows that the side thrust from the rail, in the direction of arrow F, is transmitted to the sleeper mainly .at A, and thus to a relatively large region of a very strong section of the sleeper, the concrete of that section being compressed by the fillet of the clip as a result of tightening nut 15.

Where the arrangement is such that the fillet 13 of clip 11 is engaged with the abutment face provided by the notch 14, at C, then a proportion of the side thrust is also transmitted to the sleeper at that location, but such proportion only comprises a relatively small fraction of the said thrust. In this instance it is preferable to provide a small clearance at C, between the fillet 13 and the said abutment, at the moment when the initial contact is established at A and B, so that the contact at C becomes established only after the components have been seated in position under the action of the side thrust.

The construction according to the invention makes possible a substantial increaseeven by more than 50 percent-4n the resistance of the track to transverse thrust. Moreover, additional parts such as metal bearing members anchored in the notches 14 and rubber pads arranged in the latter, may be dispensed with owing to the said construction.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown, which may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, for instance, the metal liner 17 may be dis pensed with and the bolt 4 may bear directly against the concrete sleeper at A.

What I claim is:

1. A device for fastening a rail to a concrete railway tie on which said rail rests, said rail having a foot with upper and lateral faces, said device comprising: a clip in contact with the upper and lateral faces of the foot of the rail, said clip having an end emote from said rail, said tie having an upper surface with a notch provided therein in which notch is accommodated said end of the clip, said tie being provided with a well of rectangular crosssection extending downwardly from the upper surface of the tie, and a cavity into which the lower end of the well opens, a bolt including a portion of circular crosssection and a T head, said circular portion of the bolt extending in said well with the T head facing downwardly and accommodated in said cavity, said clip being provided with an aperture through which extends said circular portion of the bolt, said aperture having a larger diameter than the circular portion of the bolt, said well having a sufficient cross-section to permit passage therethrough of the T head and the circular portion, and a nut engaged on the bolt pressing said clip and thereby said rail foot against the tie, said clip being oriented with respect to said tie to cause the bolt to be eccentrically supported in the clip and in the well such that the bolt simultaneously contacts the clip along a surface which is closest to the rail while contacting the tie along a surface bounding the well which is furthest from the rail.

2. A device for fastening a rail to a concrete railway tie, said rail having a foot with upper and lateral faces, said device comprising a clip in contact with the upper and lateral faces of the foot of the rail, said clip having an end remote from said rail, said tie having an upper surface provided with a notch in which is accommodated the end of the clip remote from the rail, a well of rectangular cross-section being provided in the tie and extending downwardly from the upper face thereof, a bolt of the T-head type extending in said well with the head facing downwardly and adapted for being inserted head first into the well, an aperture being provided in said clip through which said bolt extends eccentrically, and a nut engaged on the bolt pressing said clip and thereby said rail foot against said tie, said bolt extending eccentrically in said well and bearing with a surface thereof remote from said rail against a surface of the tie bounding said well, while said bolt contacts said clip in said aperture along a surface closest to said rail such that said clip in combination with the bolt blocks lateral movement of the rail.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said tie has a surface bounding said notch at a location remote from said rail constituting an abutment for co-operation with the said end of the clip remote from said rail.

4. A device as claimed in claim 2, comprising a metal liner supported in said well for contacting said bolt.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2, comprising a metal liner embedded in the tie and bounding said well.

6. A method of securing to a tie member, a rail resting thereon and in which tie member is eccentrically supported a bolt which extends above the upper surface of the tie member, said method comprising: laterally engaging the rail with a clip which rests on the rail on a side of the bolt opposite the rail, and urging the clip downwardly against the rail while causing the portion of the bolt which extends above the upper surface of the tie member to contact the clip along a surface of the bolt closest to said rail member while causing the bolt to contact the tie member along a surface of the bolt remote from said rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 991,420 Brereton May 2, 1911 1,084,619 Elliott Jan. 20, 1914 1,395,663 Bellan et a1 Nov. 1, 1921 1,635,816 Brown July 12, 1927 2,656,115 Sonneville Oct. 20, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 472,927 France Apr. 24, 1914 1,001,504 France May 22, 1946 1,167,520 France Aug. 9, 1955 1,227,308 France Feb. 18, 1959 

1. A DEVICE FOR FASTENING A RAIL TO A CONCRETE RAILWAY TIE ON WHICH SAID RAIL RESTS, SAID RAIL HAVING A FOOT WITH UPPER AND LATERAL FACES, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: A CLIP IN CONTACT WITH THE UPPER AND LATERAL FACES OF THE FOOT OF THE RAIL, SAID CLIP HAVING AN END EMOTE FROM SAID RAIL, SAID TIE HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE WITH A NOTCH PROVIDED THEREIN IN WHICH NOTCH IS ACCOMMODATED SAID END OF THE CLIP, SAID TIE BEING PROVIDED WITH A WELL OF RECTANGULAR CROSSSECTION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE TIE, AND A CAVITY INTO WHICH THE LOWER END OF THE WELL OPENS, A BOLT INCLUDING A PORTION OF CIRCULAR CROSSSECTION AND A T HEAD, SAID CIRCULAR PORTION OF THE BOLT EXTENDING IN SAID WELL WITH THE T HEAD FACING DOWNWARDLY AND ACCOMMODATED IN SAID CAVITY, SAID CLIP BEING PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE THROUGH WHICH EXTENDS SAID CIRCULAR PORTION OF THE BOLT, SAID APERTURE HAVING A LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE CIRCULAR PORTION OF THE BOLT, SAID WELL HAVING A SUFFICIENT CROSS-SECTION TO PERMIT PASSAGE THERETHROUGH OF THE T HEAD AND THE CIRCULAR PORTION, AND A NUT ENGAGED ON THE BOLT PRESSING SAID CLIP AND THEREBY SAID RAIL FOOT AGAINST THE TIE, SAID CLIP BEING ORIENTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID TIE TO CAUSE THE BOLT TO BE ECCENTRICALLY SUPPORTED IN THE CLIP AND IN THE WELL SUCH THAT THE BOLT SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTACTS THE CLIP ALONG A SURFACE WHICH IS CLOSEST TO THE RAIL WHILE CONTACTING THE TIE ALONG A SURFACE BOUNDING THE WELL WHICH IS FURTHEST FROM THE RAIL. 